Amuwo Odofin Maternal and Child Centre, says it has successfully managed and discharged a pre-term baby weighing seven hundred gram at birth.

Its Medical Director, Dr Dapo Soyinka, told newsmen in Lagos that the baby boy weighed one point five.

kilogram when he was discharged at fifty days, when brought back for checkup after sixty days, he

weighed one point eight kilogram.

He said successful delivery and management of a pre-term baby with such weight was a feat for the hospital which had not faced such a challenge before.

Dr Soyinka pledged the hospital’s continued monitoring of the baby’s development until twenty-four months, to ensure there would no complications.

The hospital‘s Head of Paediatrics Department, Dr Oyejoke Oyapero, also said the hospital was informed when the mother was referred to the hospital to expect a small baby.

She said the hospital was worried about the weight.

“Our fear was heightened with the weight of 700g, which is the smallest we have had in this hospital.

“We were very skeptical about the survival of the baby because a baby is supposed to be about 25 weeks at that size, not 33 weeks, and the chance of survival is really slim,” she said.

The paediatrician said after assessing the baby, given his size and age, the hospital intended to refer the baby to a tertiary hospital but could not find any with a space to admit him.

She noted that babies born too early, too small or too sick could develop complications that may lead to cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness and other diseases.

Oyapero added that the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) was then adopted to help the baby to get heat from the mother.

She said this served as an apnea monitor to keep him awake and alive.

She said managing the preterm baby, who was born during the period of the total lockdown in the state, was challenging for the hospital and his mother, who had to monitor the baby two-hourly.

The paediatrician praised the Lagos State Government for initiating free medicals in April which, she said, helped to speed up investigations, treatments and other procedures.

She urged pregnant women to go to hospitals with facilities that could manage sick or pre-term babies.

She also advised them to go for antenatal care regularly, take their drugs, eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, drink plenty of water, rest well and go to hospital without delay.

Oyapero commended the teamwork of staff and management of AOMCC, the parents and the LASG for the successful management of the baby.

The baby’s mother, Ojoma Ekhomun, said she was not sick during the pregnancy but experienced little pain on her navel at 27 weeks.

Ekhomun, who is a hairstylist, said she did not experience any problem but was not eating well and not taking enough rest.

She urged pregnant women not to miss their antenatal care appointments, adding that they should eat properly and rest well.

She praised the LASG, staff and management of AOMCC for helping to save her baby.